Giles' Angels
by Deanie
Summary: Giles, Faith and the Potentials fight supernatural crime. First up: Protecting a young wizard named Harry Potter. CAUTION: Spoilers for Buffy series finale. Read at your own risk.
1. Slayers, Inc

Title: Giles' Angels  
  
Author: Deanie  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Genre: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Harry Potter Crossover   
  
Timing: This story occurs after Buffy's series finale. Do not read if you haven't seen the finale and want to be surprised.  
  
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own these characters. Giles, the Slayers, et al. belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Harry Potter and the Hogwarts crew belong to J.K. Rowling.  
  
Distribution: List Archives, The Voice Inside, all others, please ask.  
  
Author's Notes: For Buffy, this occurs ten weeks after the season seven (series) finale, and contains spoilers for said finale. For Harry Potter, it assumes that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco and their classmates are going into their sixth year. The title is a nod to Charlie's Angels (and Andrew's opening words are a modified version of the trailer for the 1990 movie).  
  
Thanks to: Valerie, for her suggestions and IM betaing.  
  
In the study of an English estate, a video camera scanned the shadowy room. One pale hand held the instrument as it panned over lush leather chairs, ceiling-to-floor bookcases filled with titles like "The Tiberius Manifesto." Little light comes through the thick curtains, but one shaft of light penetrates the darkness, setting a spotlight on the top of an antique desk. The camera zooms in on the desk, focusing in on a speakerphone as a voice echoes through the night. The voice of one Andrew Wells.  
  
"They go where no one else dares. They do what no one else can. When there's only one chance to get it right, they're the ones to call. They're the most elite crime-fighting force ever assembled. But they only answer to one man..."  
  
Not getting the response he hoped for, Andrew paused. "They only answer to one man..." He glared pointedly at the ex-Watcher sitting outside of camera range. "Giles, that's your cue!"  
  
Giles simply glowered at the boy, slipping his glasses off and pinching the bridge of his nose. He was getting a headache, and he was not going to play along with Andrew's tireless film fantasies. "I will not use the speakerphone when I'm here in the bloody room!"  
  
"Give it up, Andrew," ordered Kennedy, wandering in the room to take a seat on a couch in front of Giles' desk. "We are not Charlie's Angels."  
  
Andrew recoiled at their words. "I'm hurt now. Would it have killed you to go along with me?" he asked, holding up his video camera.  
  
"Why did he have to come?" Kennedy asked Giles, as Faith silently took her seat in a chair across the room.  
  
"Because he whined until he got his way," Rona reminded them, taking up a position at the other end of the couch. "Before appointing himself our mascot."  
  
"We're Slayers, not a football team," Vi, ran a hand through her short red hair as she plopped herself between Kennedy and Rona. "We don't need a mascot."  
  
"Giles," Andrew whined, turning to the Watcher. "They're picking on me."  
  
"Andrew," he replied. "Do sit down. We've got work to do." He looked around. "Where's Chao Ahn?"  
  
The Chinese Slayer wandered into the room, headphones on her head as she intently read a book.   
  
"Chao Ahn?" Giles asked, trying to ascertain what the young woman was doing.  
  
She held up the book. "Learn English," she explained, taking off her headphones and sitting in a nearby chair.  
  
"Very well then," Giles continued. "While we are most certainly *not* Charlie's Angels, we have been asked to participate in a covert assignment. Albus Dumbledore is a wizard, an old friend of my grandmother..."  
  
"Ooh! Ooh!" Andrew interrupted, standing up. "You need pictures! You should have slides or something. I mean, I know you'd never use Power Point because you're afraid of your computer, but there should be slides... I could make slides."  
  
"Sit down and be quiet," Giles commanded. "This is serious business. A boy's life is at stake."  
  
"I'm sorry." Andrew slumped down in his chair. "I'll be good."  
  
Giles glared at him before continuing. "Professor Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland. He has reason to believe that followers of a Lord Voldemort, a very powerful evil wizard, will be attacking a student named Harry Potter. He is unsure that the resources of the school will be enough to defeat them, so he has asked for our help."  
  
"Help how?" Rona asked. "We're not witches and wizards."  
  
"No, you're not." Giles began to pace in front of his desk. "But you are Slayers. Slayers rarely interact with the wizarding world, so this Voldemort will not be expecting to find you protecting the boy."  
  
"Sounds good, G," Faith concurred. "But how are we going to get into this witchy school? As Rona said, we're not witches."  
  
"Which is why we need help," Giles admitted, stopping his pacing to look at Faith.  
  
"Willow." Kennedy smiled. She hadn't seen her girlfriend in weeks. After Sunnydale had been destroyed, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Dawn had taken off on a cross-country road trip, while she'd gone with Giles, Faith, and a few other newly-empowered Slayers to England. It had been a long ten weeks.  
  
"Yes. Willow will be going undercover as the new professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Faith, you will be her assistant."  
  
"Wicked cool." She smiled.  
  
"We will need to send a Slayer in as a student." He turned to look at Vi. "Vi, you will be Willow's sister, transferring to Hogwart's because of her job."  
  
Vi's eyes widened. "But I'm not a witch. I can't do magic. What if they ask me to do magic?"  
  
Giles put his hand on her shoulder. "They most certainly will expect you to do magic, which is why Willow and I will use the power of the coven to temporarily imbue you with magical ability. You will have to learn the actual spells yourself, however." He walked over to the desk and tossed her a book. "This is one of several volumes. Read quickly."  
  
The red-headed Slayer gulped. Nothing like a little pressure for her first non-apocalyptic Slayer assignment.  
  
The Watcher scanned the room, taking in the faces of the rest of t he newly-called Slayers. "While they are infiltrating Hogwart's, I am going to investigate a possible Slayer in London. The rest of you will wait until such time as you are needed."  
  
Kennedy's face fell. Not only was she not going to get to see Willow, but she was going to have to spend all of her time waiting for something bad to happen? This sucked.  
  
"Rest assured that the time will come. It is only a matter of time until Lord Voldemort attacks, and we must be ready."  
  
Kennedy and Rona exchanged a look.  
  
"We will be," assured the African-American Slayer.  
  
"Good." Giles nodded. "Now let's get to work." 


	2. Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

Thanks to Valerie for her beta-ing and suggestions.  
  
****  
  
Chapter Two - Preparation, Preparation, Preparation  
  
****  
  
In the upstairs hallway of the Giles' estate, Vi sat in the window seat, looking out at the moonlight. Her 'Standard Book of Spells, First Grade' sat open on her lap, but she wasn't paying attention to it. She was going to be going into the sixth year at Hogwart's, so she had a lot of reading to do. How was she supposed to learn all this stuff when she only had a week before she was supposed to begin at the wizarding school? Maybe Willow could magic some of the knowledge in her head.   
  
Who was she kidding? Despite the fact that their shared red hair gave her a passing resemblance to Willow, she was so not the one for this job. Kennedy was braver, Rona smarter...even Chao Ahn... well, maybe not Chao Ahn, who still spoke very little English. Despite her showing in the final battle against the First and her brave front since then, inside she was still the same little wimpy Potential who didn't even know how to hold a stake. Giles had the wrong girl for the job. And she'd tell him... if she could work up the courage to tell him he wasn't right.  
  
She sighed. She was too wimpy to even tell Giles she was too wimpy for the job. This was not going to go well. Maybe she should just pack it in and head back to...  
  
"Everything all right?"  
  
She jumped at the sound of Giles' voice. He appeared from nowhere as if she'd conjured him - which she couldn't do, because conjuring a person was far beyond the 'Standard Book of Spells, First Grade.'  
  
"Mr. Giles," she began hesitantly. "Are you sure I'm the right person for this job?"  
  
Giles smiled. Out of all the surviving Potentials who were now Slayers, Vi had come the furthest. She'd started out as a timid, hesitant girl afraid of her own shadow, but in the final battle she had matured, rising to the challenge and emerging victorious. She had indeed grown to be one of the strongest of all of the Slayers.  
  
He nudged her feet over, sitting at the end of the window seat. "I understand that this is a difficult assignment for all of you - out of your realm of expertise, as it were. But I have every confidence in you. You are intelligent and brave, strong and resourceful. You can do this," he assured her.  
  
She closed her eyes, looking anywhere but at him. How did she voice the fears that nearly paralyzed her inside? "If I can't do this assignment, we're all in trouble. I have to be witchy enough for us all to stay at Hogwart's." She paused, biting her lip before continuing. "If I screw this up, this Harry Potter kid will die."  
  
Giles looked at her intently. "Your last battle was for the fate of the world, and now you're worrying about the importance of one boy?"  
  
She closed her eyes. How to explain? "Before, when we went into the Hellmouth to stop the First Evil, I thought I was going to die. I thought we all were going to. Then I felt the power rush through me, and suddenly, I was the Slayer. No thought, no fear, just strength and confidence. Now? Point me at a vamp and I'm there... but this is more than that... this is someone's life... and I'm the key figure in this equation."  
  
He put one hand on her shoulder reassuringly, and looked in her eyes as he replied. "I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't have every confidence that you could accomplish the tasks at hand. You can do this, Vi. I know you can."  
  
Vi smiled. Just knowing that Giles had so much faith in her imbued her with new confidence. "Thanks, Giles," she replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get through First Grade spells before bed." She gestured towards the pile of books on the floor next to the window seat. "Also Charms, Potions, and Transifiguration."  
  
"Don't overwhelm yourself your first day," Giles cautioned.  
  
"I won't," she reassured him.  
  
"Good." He turned around and headed back down the hall.  
  
Vi returned her attention to her spellbook. "Lumos solarum," she read. "Making sunlight. Now there's a spell we could use."  
  
****  
  
Willow had arrived earlier that evening, ensconcing herself in the guest room with magic books. Kennedy paused outside the door to Willow's room. Her girlfriend had barely said two words to her since arriving, giving her a quick 'hello' kiss before heading up to make with the mojo. Was there something wrong, something Willow wasn't telling her? Something magic-y? Or worse, something personal? Kennedy didn't even know if she wanted to ask her about it... if Willow did want to break up with her, did she really want to know about it?  
  
"Don't rock the boat," she muttered, knocking on the door. She was going to go in and act like everything was normal.  
  
Willow didn't even look up as she pushed open the door. "Hey, honey," Kennedy said, attempting a casual tone despite her too-worried-to-be-casual attitude. "How's the magic coming? Need any help?"  
  
"Oh, hey," Willow said, looking up. "Working. On the magic. It's a highly complex spell," she said nervously.  
  
"I thought Giles had done something like this before," Kennedy remarked. "He borrowed the power of the coven when..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say next. 'When you tried to end the world' didn't seem to be something she should remind Willow of.  
  
"When I went evil and tried to destroy the world?" Willow finished. Over the last few months, during the struggle with the First, he'd come to terms with that part of her past. Doing the spell to empower all of the Potentials had shown her that she wasn't going to go all evil every time she tried a spell. She was capable of doing magic responsibly - which was good, given what she was about to attempt.  
  
Honestly, she'd dealt with her problems and she was sick of everyone tip-toeing around the subject. Though, she wasn't one to talk, since she was tip-toeing around a very different subject herself - the true nature of her feelings for Kennedy, which weren't quite what the Slayer was thinking they were. If her girlfriend knew what had happened on her vacation with Buffy, Dawn and Xander...   
  
She looked up, realizing that Kennedy was waiting for her to continue.  
  
"The spell from before, where the Coven let Giles borrow all their power was different. Giles already had the inborn magic ability and knowledge - he just needed more power. Vi, on the other hand, isn't inherently magical. So I have to make her capable of doing magic, then give her the power to actually do it."  
  
"Sounds complicated," Kennedy observed. Maybe Willow was distracted because she was caught up in how to work this spell. Maybe. She could hope.  
  
"Yes. Very complicated...the spell...which I have to do."  
  
Kennedy smiled. She loved it when Willow babbled. "If there's anything I can do to help..."  
  
"Sorry," Willow shrugged. "Just something I have to do by myself."  
  
"Okay." The Slayer headed for the door. "I'll be downstairs...if you need me."  
  
Willow smiled nervously. Goddess, Kennedy had to leave. She didn't know how long she could hold up under the strain of not telling her things she should tell her but didn't want to tell her because it would upset her...  
  
She was almost hyperventilating by the time Kennedy closed the door.  
  
"Breathe, Red."  
  
Willow jumped at the sound of Faith's voice. She'd been so focused on holding it together for Kennedy she hadn't even noticed the other Slayer's presence in the bathroom that connected their bedrooms.  
  
"Faith," Willow said, slumping down on the bed. She was getting ready to attempt a major spell from a somewhat shaky emotional state. Why couldn't people just leave her alone? "Look, if you don't mind, I've got a lot of work to do, and I need to be alone to do it."  
  
"So you sent your girlfriend away?" Faith, ignoring Willow's request, sprawled in a chair near the bed.  
  
"Yes," Willow asserted. "Because if she were here, I wouldn't be alone."  
  
Faith reached into her pocket, realizing at the last minute that her cigarettes weren't there. Damn Giles' house rules. Setting a good example for the pep squad was all well and good, but there were sometimes when a girl just needed a smoke. Like when she was about to confront a sort-of friend about something she didn't want to deal with.   
  
She took in a deep, nicotine-free breath. "You didn't send Kennedy away because you have to work."  
  
"Did to!" Willow protested.  
  
"When are you going to tell Kennedy how you really feel about her?" Faith asked softly.  
  
"I...I..." Willow's voice trailed off. For someone so self-absorbed and emotionally detached, Faith was remarkably insightful. "I can't tell her. I don't know how."  
  
"Willow, you can't hide this," Faith insisted. "Little Miss Debutante isn't a rocket scientist, but she knows something's up. It's distracting her, and it's distracting you."  
  
"I'm not-"  
  
"Don't bother denying it, Red," Faith interrupted. "You're distracted, unfocused. And people who are distracted when facing down things called 'Death Eaters' become corpses. As does everyone around them."  
  
"What do I say?" Willow asked helplessly, tears welling up in her eyes. "How do I tell the person who made me believe I could love again that I'm not in love with her?"  
  
Oh no. Not tears. She was trying to be the caring, understanding friend type, but Faith didn't know what she'd do if there were tears. She had to get Willow back to thinking, not crying. "You've got to say something, Will. You just can't leave her hanging."  
  
"I know," Willow sniffled. "But if I tell her I'm not in love with her and I want to break up with her, then I'll have to tell her why. And I can't tell her why."  
  
"What happened?" Faith asked, curiously. "Something happened when you were off with your little Scooby gang. Something that changed you."  
  
"I'm a bad, bad person," Willow stated. Only a horrible person would have done what she did. It was too terrible to admit out loud.  
  
"You did something bad?" Now she was confused. What could Willow have done that was so awful? "Worse than killing people or trying to end the world?"  
  
Willow shook her head. Okay, so it wasn't end-of-the-world evil. Still... "I cheated on her... with Xander."  
  
Faith stared at Willow. Definitely not what she was expecting. Cheated with Buffy, maybe... but Xander? "Xander?"  
  
"Yep." The redhead nodded. "Xander. Apparently I'm not as gay as I thought I was."  
  
"Wow." Faith sat back, speechless.  
  
"How am I supposed to tell Kennedy I'm breaking up with her, I don't love her, I cheated on her, and, oh, by the way, I'm not really a lesbian?"  
  
"Maybe you shouldn't say, 'oh, by the way.'" Faith suggested, unable to suppress a laugh. Even romantic relationships were no where near normal around here.  
  
Willow laughed with her. The whole situation was just so absurd.  
  
"Seriously, Will," the Slayer said. "You've got to tell her something."  
  
"I know," Willow admitted. "I'll tell her tomorrow. I have to concentrate on this spell tonight. First thing in the morning, we imbue Vi with the power of the Coven, and in the afternoon we're testing it out in Diagon Alley. When we get home tomorrow night, I'll tell her."  
  
"Diagon Alley? That's some sort of wizard mall, right?"  
  
"Sort of." Willow breathed deeply, relieved to be talking about something other than her highly complicated love life. "Giles has Wizard money for us all to use, and we can get all the wizardy supplies we need for the mission - wands, books, robes..."  
  
"Robes?" Faith asked suspiciously. "You mean, like, for bed? 'Cause I generally sleep in the raw."  
  
"Too much information!" Willow held up her hand, fearing what faith would say next.   
  
"We seriously have to wear robes? All the time. In public?" She couldn't be serious. How were they supposed to kick the crap out of evil dressed like Gandalf wanna-bes?  
  
"Yes, all the time," Willow insisted. "That's the way people dress in the wizarding world."  
  
Faith groaned. The look on Willow's face looked suspiciously like her 'resolve face.' There was no getting around this one.  
  
"Look at it as an opportunity to get a whole new wardrobe," the witch teased, Faith's discomfort taking her mind off of her own problems.  
  
Faith stood up. Robes. Now she definitely needed a cigarette.  
  
"Go away." Willow shooed her towards the door. "Thanks for the chat, but I have work to do."  
  
"I'm gone," said the Slayer, pulling the door closed behind her as she exited the room.  
  
"Now," Willow said, turning her attention back to her spell. "To complete the transfer of power..." 


	3. On to Diagon Alley

Chapter 3  
  
Vi nervously shifted her weight from foot to foot. This was it - her first test as a faux witch. In minutes they were going to go through a magic wall into Diagon Alley, the secret shopping mecca of London witches and wizards.  
  
She shivered. What if they saw through her? Laughed at her and called her a Muggle? Sent her back to the U.S. in disgrace?  
  
Willow, seeing the younger woman's nervousness, put her arm around Vi's shoulders. "You're gonna do just fine."  
  
Vi sighed. Today should be easy. Compared to fighting the first, this was simple. There wasn't even the possibility of mortal danger involved, though she'd almost rather there was. She knew how to fight, but she wasn't sure her acting skills were up to this kind of deception. She took a deep breath for courage. Willow was right. She just had to have confidence. She was a Slayer, born to fight evil. She could do this. "Lead on, Macduff."  
  
Ever since Giles' had told her this place existed, Willow had been filled with anticipation. There was a whole wizarding society out there and she was about to become a part of it, starting with what lay before them. Mere feet away from the coolest market in all of magicdom, Willow was giddy with witchy joy. Until she heard the whining.  
  
"But why can't I go into Diagon Alley?" Andrew whined from the back seat, nervously fidgeting in place. "I wanna go."  
  
Vi rolled her eyes. "Why did we let him come in the car, anyway?"  
  
"Because he hid the car keys and refused to tell us where they were unless we took him," Giles muttered in disgust, climbing out of the driver's seat. Andrew had been constantly whining since they left the house. If he had to hear one more word from the boy, he wouldn't be responsible for his actions.  
  
"But, Diagon Alley!" Andrew protested. "Full of broomsticks, and owls, and people with wands..."  
  
"I still say you should have let me beat it out of him," Faith grumbled, stretching her long legs as she got out of the car. It had been too long since she'd had a good fight. Would have been fun to see the little man writhing in pain. Would have made up for all the pain he'd caused with his constant bitching and moaning, she thought.  
  
"G-i-les." He stretched the word out into three syllables, his voice grating on the others' nerves like fingernails on a blackboard.  
  
"He's not going to stay in the car, is he?" Willow rolled her eyes, thinking of the danger that could be unleashed by allowing Andrew access to wizard supplies. They'd be lucky if Diagon Alley was still standing after he got through with it.  
  
Andrew crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. No way was he staying in the car while they got to have all sorts of magical fun.  
  
Willow sighed. Good thing she'd been reading up on spells, because she had just the right one for this situation. She hated to do this to him, but it was for his own good. "Manere!" she commanded, pointing to Andrew.  
  
As the spell hit him, the blond sat up straight in the back seat of the car, trying to move. He wiggled in place, shaking his feet and waving his hands in the air, but his rear end remained firmly planted on the seat. "Help! I'm stuck! Giles!"  
  
Willow patted Andrew's shoulder consolingly. "We'll bring you back some eye of newt."  
  
He pouted and continued wiggling, but try as he might he couldn't get free of the witch's spell.   
  
Seeing the little man squirm, Faith smiled. "You go, red!" she cheered, giving Willow a high five as they headed for Diagon Alley.  
  
****  
  
Giles led the way through the Leaky Cauldron, trying to be as obtrusive as one could get if one was a middle-aged man with three girls in tow. Though they were quite unused to seeing such a thing, the three did an admirable job of not gawking at the sight of patrons clad in wizarding robes. Still, they weren't paying him their complete attention, and therefore ran into him as he stopped before the entrance to Diagon Alley.  
  
"Uh, G?" Faith said, almost hesitantly. "Where are we going? That's a big brick wall."  
  
Giles looked back at her and smiled. He then turned, rapped on the stones in front of them in a specific pattern. The girls stared in amazement as the stones rearranged themselves, opening up to the manic marketplace of Diagon Alley.  
  
"Wow," Vi gasped, unable to believe the sight of wizards and witches bustling along the busy street.  
  
"Don't dawdle," Giles urged, stepping through the opening. "We have much to do today - and we can't leave Andrew in the car forever. Heaven only knows what trouble he'll get into."  
  
He was past the cauldron shop when he realized they weren't following. Still enraptured by what they were seeing, the girls were staring at the magical stores. He glared. "Do come on!"  
  
Willow, Faith, and Vi hurried to catch up.  
  
"Sorry Giles," Willow apologized. "This is just...neat."  
  
"Yes, yes, I know. Can we get on with it?" Giles glared pointedly at the girls until they hurried to catch up.   
  
"Sorry, Mr. Giles," Vi apologized. "We'll keep up."  
  
Faith shrugged, following the others through the crowded street.  
  
****  
  
Meanwhile, in the car, Andrew was still fidgeting. "Not fair. Leaving me stuck here, in the car. I wanna see Diagon Alley. I can be a wizard! I can do big-time magic. I made the flying monkeys, didn't I?" he muttered.  
  
Then he slumped back in the seat, dejected. Willow's spell was simply too good - he couldn't break it. "Curses! Foiled again!"   
  
Once he realized fidgeting didn't help, he sat quietly. He didn't want to be alone - hadn't wanted to be since the battle with The First. Alone gave him too much time to think, especially about why he'd survived when good people like Anya and Amanda had died. Okay, maybe Anya hadn't always been good, or always been a person... but she'd died a hero.  
  
He'd never been a hero. Maybe if he had been, she'd be alive, or maybe he wouldn't be. He'd survived for a reason, and he needed to find out what it was. Did fate have something in store for him, or had it simply overlooked him, as he'd been overlooked all of his life? He didn't know, didn't know if he wanted to.  
  
What he did know was that he wanted to be part of the group, to participate in the plan, instead of being magically trapped in the car. Andrew sighed. He was stuck here until they got back. "The least they could have done is left me with my GameBoy," he grumbled, staring out the window, settling in for a long wait. 


End file.
